The Best Presents
A holiday story.
When I was a young teenager, my mother told us that she wanted to switch up the way we did some of our Christmas gift-giving. At that point, my brother and I still received gifts in stockings from “Santa,” which, of course (spoiler alert), we knew was my mom. But so many of the gift-giving responsibilities fell on my mom each year that she suggested we draw names and play the “Secret Santa” game, each filling the stocking of another person. In doing so, my parents both got their stockings filled too, which was, I think, a good teaching moment for my brother and me.
Quickly, we all figured out that drawing my dad’s name was the path to a challenging Christmas. For a few years, he got tins of nuts and bags of lemon candy for the dish he kept in his office, and maybe a fishing lure, if we could find one we thought he would actually use. It was tough to find other small things to buy for him. I mean, even buying him a regular gift was a challenge. He got a lot of ties.
Some years, we got spoiled, because if one person slipped, we could figure out the rest. But if we made it to Christmas Day with our secrets intact, we tried to guess who our Santa was. Either way, we would pull out one item at a time and have a lot of laughs about it.
Eventually, the “Getting Dad’s stocking” dread led to a change in the rules. We each bought four or so small items for each person. Then, when we dug into the bags that replaced our overflowing stockings on Christmas Eve, we tried to guess which person gave us each gift. It was so much fun!
All these years later, I remember with fondness the cherry red lipstick that my dad picked out for my stocking one year. I remember him saying something like, “Wow, I just picked a color I thought was nice, I didn’t know I was doing a good job.” I wore that color for years, all the way until it stopped being manufactured.
For me, memories of the stocking tradition eclipse most others from those Christmases long ago, even though the gifts themselves were often things like a pack of cinnamon Dynamints.
We play the same stocking game in my family now. We started with the Secret Santa idea, and all four of us would go to a discount store called Five Below to scurry around and shop for each other. We would help the kids pay for their things while trying not to look at the items they were buying. Eventually, we too switched to the “buy a few small things for each person” mode, in part because at times my son forgot who his person was, which completely upset the apple cart.
I hope that this tradition will continue with my children’s future families, and I hope that we can remember that my mom started it all. Welcoming the kids into the fold of gift-giving with a little fun and magic wrapped in has really added to the holiday experience, I think. I hope it’s made a positive influence on their characters as well.
This year, on Christmas Day, I got a lovely present that did not fit in any stocking. It came from one of my kids, my niece, and my nephew, who range in age from 13 to 19. They invited my mother to play the board game “Sorry!” which was a staple from my childhood and theirs. They spent countless hours playing Sorry! with my mom, because Gram and Pap’s house was a really fun place for them to hang out when they were small.
This time, my mom had some trouble remembering which color was hers and which pile to draw cards from. I believe she may have moved my nephew’s pawn more times than her own. And every time, one of the kids said, kindly, “Oh Gram, you’re yellow, not blue,” and that was that. No frustration. No shame. They helped her with the rules, they laughed together, and it seemed like they were all having a good time. I really enjoyed watching, too. And I was just so happy to see that these kids, who were all in part creations of my mother’s love and kindness, are now reflecting that love and kindness back to her. I’m not sure I could have been given a better gift.
Except, I guess, maybe a million dollars. That would have been pretty sweet.
Happy New Year, friends!
News
I’m exhausted. It’s been a long month, and a really, really long year. As I write this, I’m preparing to do a “clear liquid diet and then drink something gross” day tomorrow so that I can swallow a camera and carry some kind of equipment around to take pictures inside my intestines for a day. I’m not excited about it. I hope to be done with medical testing in 2025 and have a smoother, healthier 2026. We’ll see how it goes.
In other news, I’d like to work on uploading one more project to Amazon for this year, but I’m not sure I can get it done. It’s a lot to think about. I wrote two dog agility exercise books (Volume 1 and Volume 2) and two coloring books (Gnomes and Dragons) this year, in addition to my regular job. That’s pretty good, right?
Reminder: If you’re a dog person, please note that I have started an online community for dog sport enthusiasts and people who enjoy training dogs. It’s specifically aimed at those who train at home, in their backyards, or in other small spaces. It’s also for those who are training alone, without the help of others nearby. I’m working on having educational materials, tips, and other information to support “backyard” training, and we are running a Parkour Challenge now. It is a really awesome titling opportunity! It comes with benefits like a free All Dogs Parkour registration number!
The group is free. If you are interested, please check it out here!
Shop with Me
If you check out my links and buy something you need, you can help support this newsletter. Here are some of the things I’ve purchased recently:
I just ordered more of the best hair detangler ever. It works great for people and pets, so if you need that sort of thing, please check it out.
This is the best coffee ever, no doubt.
Is your skin dry this winter? Check this moisturizing cream out. My allergist recommended it, and it definitely works and stays on all day. https://amzn.to/44NdbM9
We like Airborne Immune Support gummies at our house, especially during flu season.
(As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from purchases made through the links above.)
I’ll see you next week, when I can hopefully tell you that the insides of my intestines are super photogenic.
Wishing you a healthy and prosperous new year. Thanks for the great blogs!
I love that story! You were so lucky to have them as your parents! I'll never know how your dad learned to be a good dad.
Certainly not from OUR family.
Love you all.